


Piece of Cake

by Pers



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 13:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18121709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pers/pseuds/Pers
Summary: Obi-Wan wants to surprise his master with a cake. Of course, things don't go quite according to plan.





	Piece of Cake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vix_spes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/gifts).



Obi-Wan hummed to himself as he went through the kitchen cabinets, looking for the largest bowl he could find. He set it down on the counter and fetched his datapad, scrolling through his messages until he'd found the one from Master Tahl.

True to her word, she'd sent him her recipe for lemendor drizzle cake, his master's favourite. Obi-Wan smiled as he imaged the surprised look on Master Qui-Gon's face when Obi-Wan would present him with a cake he'd baked himself. He couldn't wait!

The Jedi didn't celebrate birthdays per se - apparently birthdays were only important when deciding a Jedi initiate was too old to become a padawan - but neither was is considered rude or against the rules to offer congratulations. So when Obi-Wan had found out that his master's birthday was coming up, he'd known that he wanted to do something nice for him. He'd spent weeks trying to come up with an idea and eventually had settled on baking his master a cake.

Obi-Wan had even managed to wheedle the recipe for lemendor drizzle cake out of Master Tahl, which hadn't been easy. She'd driven a hard bargain, giving Obi-Wan a long list of tasks he had to do before she agreed to give him the recipe. He'd managed it, even if it had almost made him late for lightsabre practice with his master. But even risking his master's wrath was a small price to pay for being able to surprise him with a cake. It would be brilliant!

Still humming to himself, Obi-Wan started mixing together the first few ingredients, taking care to stir only clockwise like Master Tahl had told him to. He glanced at his datapad to see what came next: _Add 2 cups of Kashyyyk wheat flour._

Blast! He'd forgotten to get the flour. Obi-Wan looked around the kitchen, hoping against hope that his master had stocked Kashyyyk wheat flour. His eyes alighted on a container on the top shelf, labelled _KASHYYYK WHEAT FLOUR_ in large letters. He was saved!

He used the Force to levitate the container down from the shelf. His master probably wouldn't have approved of Obi-Wan using the Force in such a way, but his master was also an incredibly tall person and just didn't understand the struggle short people faced on a daily basis.

Obi-Wan carefully measured out two cups of flour and added them to the batter. The flour floated on top for a moment before it sank with a loud _gloop_. Obi-Wan picked up the spoon again to stir, when the batter suddenly started fizzing and developing a musty smell that wouldn't have been out of place on a swamp planet. 

Was it supposed to do that? Obi-Wan frowned and reached for his datapad to check the recipe. The fizzing was steadily getting louder and louder, and before Obi-Wan had time to look at the recipe, the bowl erupted with a hollow bang, splattering everything in the vicinity with cake batter.

Obi-Wan stood frozen in shock for a moment, feeling the cake batter run down his face. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and slowly blinked them open. The sinking feeling in his stomach increased as he surveyed the damage. There was cake batter everywhere! On the floor, the kitchen walls, the ceiling... and all over Obi-Wan and his datapad.

His eyes widened in shock when he realized that the splatters had even reached the living-room, and most importantly, his master's favourite chair. Oh no. Ohnononono. Master Qui-Gon was going to kill him!

Obi-Wan breathed slowly in and out to fight back the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. There was still time to clean everything up. His master need never know about this. Obi-Wan turned around to fetch a towel from the 'fresher and froze in his tracks.

Master Qui-Gon was standing right there, hands resting on his hips, his face seemingly impassive. But Obi-Wan had been his padawan long enough to know that look. His master wasn't pleased. No, his master wasn't pleased at all. Obi-Wan didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if his master had been here a moment sooner and got hit by cake batter as well...

"M...Master!" Obi-Wan stammered, hating the way his voice broke. "I can explain!"

His master just gave him a withering look. "I don't want to hear it! You are going to clean this mess up, every last bit of it. If things aren't spic and span when I get back, you're going to find yourself on the next transport to AgriCorps. Have I made myself clear?"

The words stung, and Obi-Wan lowered his head, unable to look at his master any longer. "Yes, Master."

"Then you'd better get started."

"Yes, Master."

Obi-Wan heard the door swish open and close as his master left their quarters without another word. He felt like crying. This hadn't gone at all according to plan.

***

Qui-Gon strode along the Temple corridors, not bothering to stop and chat with anyone. All he'd wanted was a quiet afternoon to himself, was that too much to ask? He'd suffered enough already, having to attend a Council meeting that morning, and he'd just wanted to sit and think.

But it would seem his apprentice had had other ideas, turning their quarters into a disaster area. What had that boy been doing? The kitchen and Obi-Wan had been covered in some kind of grey slime, and the smell... it had simply been revolting.

He knew the Force worked in mysterious ways, but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder why it had been so insistent he take Obi-Wan as his padawan. Qui-Gon's life had been so much simpler without him.

Unwittingly, Qui-Gon's steps had taken him into the direction of Tahl's quarters, and he decided to see if his friend was in the mood for a chat. Talking to her often helped him put things into perspective, and in any case, it was nice being able to vent to someone about the trials of being a Master. 

Luckily, Tahl was in, and she even offered him some tea.

"So tell me, what's bugging you?" Tahl asked, after they'd sat down together. 

Qui-Gon heaved a loud sigh. "It's Obi-Wan."

"What did you do?"

"What did I do?! It was my apprentice who apparently decided to do some kind of chemistry experiment in our kitchen, turning it into a mud bath."

Tahl was silent for a moment. "Ah."

Something in her tone of voice made Qui-Gon sit up. "Do you know something about this?"

Tahl deliberated for a moment before replying, "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but I think I have to make an exception in this case. Obi-Wan wanted to bake you a cake."

"A cake? Why?"

"He wanted to surprise you for your birthday."

"But I don't even celebrate my birthday!"

"I know, but I believe Obi-Wan just wanted to do something nice for you. He specifically asked me for the lemendor drizzle cake recipe. He even offered to work for it, can you imagine! I would have given it to him in any case, but since he offered... Well, I'm afraid I shamelessly took advantage of your padawan's good nature. I had been meaning to rearrange my study for a while, so he helped me with that, and the shelves needed dusting in any case..."

Qui-Gon's eyes narrowed. So that was the reason for his padawan's dusty appearance when he'd been late for lightsabre practice a few nights ago.

"Your padawan is such a polite and well-mannered boy," Tahl continued. "You know, I really believe you could learn a thing or two from him."

"Tahl."

"What? He's the best thing that's happened to you, and you know it. He keeps you on your toes."

Qui-Gon didn't reply, but his thoughts drifted back to the scene in the kitchen. He remembered the way he'd spoken to Obi-Wan, and the defeated look on his padawan's face.

Tahl must have senses something, because her voice was suddenly sharp. "What did you do?"

"I may have threatened to send him to AgriCorps."

"Oh, Qui-Gon. How could you?"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"No, you're right," Qui-Gon said. He got up from the table, thanking Tahl for the tea. "I'd better go and talk to Obi-Wan."

"Tell him I'm sorry things didn't work out with the recipe."

***

Qui-Gon let himself back into the quarters he shared with Obi-Wan. Everything was quiet, except for the hum of the small cleaning droid that was wiping the already sparkling clean kitchen floor.

Not a trace of the grey slime remained, and Qui-Gon marvelled at his padawan's resourcefulness. Obi-Wan had even thought to light some incense to cover up the musty smell. His padawan was nowhere in sight, but Qui-Gon could sense him in his room, quiet and miserable. 

"Obi-Wan," he called out, "come out here for a moment."

The door to Obi-Wan's room opened and his padawan came shuffling out.

"Yes, Master?" he asked as he stood before Qui-Gon, his misery obvious in spite of the brave front he put up.

"First things first, I'm not going to send you away to AgriCorps. I shouldn't have threatened you like that, it was petty and unworthy of a Jedi master. I'm sorry, Obi-Wan." He gave his padawan a formal bow. "Please accept my apology."

Obi-Wan's shoulders visibly sagged with relief, but he didn't immediately reply. He looked at Qui-Gon for a moment like he was trying to suss out whether Qui-Gon meant what he'd said, but then he finally bowed and said, "I accept your apology, Master."

Now it was Qui-Gon's turn to feel relieved. He smiled at his padawan to reassure him even further and asked, "Tahl mentioned you were going to bake a cake?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Obi-Wan replied quietly.

"Oh, believe me, it was a surprise."

"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean to make such a mess."

"There's no harm done, Padawan. You cleaned up everything."

"I don't know what happened though. I followed Master Tahl's recipe step by step, but..." Obi-Wan trailed off and looked up at Qui-Gon, giving a helpless shrug. "When I added the Kashyyyk wheat flour, everything just... exploded."

Something niggled at the back of Qui-Gon's mind. Kashyyyk wheat flour? "Uh, you didn't happen to use the flour from the jar on the top shelf, did you?"

"Yes, what else was I supposed to use?"

Qui-Gon didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "That wasn't flour, the jar held crushed reek beetles."

Obi-Wan gave him a horrified look. "Bugs?"

"I'm afraid so, Padawan. That jar has been there for years... It's a relict from when Xanatos was a little older than you. Crushed reek beetles were all the rage among padawans back then. Apparently, they're full of protein."

The look on Obi-Wan's face spoke volumes. Xanatos seemed to have sunk even lower in Obi-Wan's estimation, something Qui-Gon hadn't thought possible. 

"Xanatos ate bugs? Voluntarily?" 

Qui-Gon chuckled. "Yes, he did."

"And you didn't stop him?"

"Believe me, sometimes it's best to let padawans make their own decisions. In any case, there are worse things to eat than reek beetles."

Obi-Wan wrinkled his nose in disgust, and Qui-Gon thought that perhaps his padawan would benefit from a little survival training. That was definitely something to keep in mind for the future.

"Why did you have to keep the bugs in a jar labelled Kashyyyk wheat flour though?" Obi-Wan asked. "I can't believe I almost baked you a bug cake!"

He sounded so indignant that Qui-Gon couldn't help but laugh. 

"Master? I still don't understand why it suddenly exploded."

"What if I told you that the shells of reek beetles contain hycosate?"

Understanding dawned on Obi-Wan's face. "And hycosate reacts with milk," he said.

Qui-Gon nodded. "A valuable lesson in chemistry, my Padawan."

"I could have done without the cleaning up part though," Obi-Wan grumbled. 

"I think we both deserve a little treat after this day," Qui-Gon said, resting a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "What do you say to a trip to Dex's diner for an ice cream sundae, Padawan?"

Obi-Wan's face lit up. "Yes, Master!"

Qui-Gon smiled and ruffled his padawan's hair. His life may have been simpler without Obi-Wan as his padawan, but truth be told, he wouldn't want to miss him.


End file.
